Gediminas of Lithuania

Gediminas "the Just" of Lithuania (1275-December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1316 to 1341, succeeding Vytenis of Lithuania and preceding Jaunutis of Lithuania.

Biography
Gediminas was born in 1275, the brother of Grand Duke Vytenis of Lithuania and son of Butvydas of Lithuania. In 1316, he inherited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on his brother's death, and he allied with the Tatars of the Golden Horde against the Teutonic Order in 1319. Gediminas sought to make Lithuania both secure and powerful, so he held direct negotiations with Pope John XXII and had papal legates be sent to baptize him; this was just a diplomatic maneuver, as he did not actually seek to convert from Romuva paganism to Christianity. On 2 October 1323, he made peace with the Teutonic knights, and his skillful negotiations with the Pope and other Christian leaders allowed him to slow the Christianization of Lithuania. Gediminas gained a legacy as a champion of paganism, and he extended his empire from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, while he would also build the present-day Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in 1323, inviting Germans and Jews to settle in the city. He died in 1341, recognized as one of the greatest Lithuanian kings.